Training

Your New Favourite Outdoor Workout

With spring in full swing, the great outdoors are practically calling your name! Turn a steep incline into your personal playground by adding a hill sprint workout to your regular routine. Great for avid runners or athletes looking craving change in their usual cardio session, hill sprints are short bursts of maximum effort and equal recovery, building strength and burning some serious fat. Sprint workouts help to increase the power and efficiency of each stride, which enables you to cover more ground with less energy while you walk or run. This method of training is also very short in duration, which allows you to squeeze in a quick sweat session and take on your day energized and revitalized.

Be aware, hill sprints are not for the faint of heart. Not to scare you into running back to the treadmill, but hill sprints place a lot of strain on the muscles, joints, and connective tissues. If you’re new to hill sprints, be sure to warm up and cool down correctly to minimize the risk of strain and injury. Listen to your body and get ready to have some fun. It’s time to put down the weights, get some sunshine, and use gravity for one of the most intense workouts you’ll ever tackle.

Find a hill with a decent incline for your skill level. A 6% gradient is a good choice for beginners. Move up towards 12% once you’ve had a few practice runs and you feel safe and comfortable. If you’re not sure how to judge what incline is best for you, get on the treadmill, set the incline to six, and work your way up. Then find a hill that matches your ideal incline.

Warm up

30 seconds – High knees, rest 10 seconds

30 seconds – Glute kicks, rest 10 seconds

15 Arm circles in each direction

Side shuffle in both directions for 30 yards

Light sideways jog (half the gradient of your sprint) up and down hill for three minutes

Workout

Repeat rounds one and two for a total of three sets.

Round 1: Uphill Workout

Walking Lunges to the top – walk down

Frog Leaps to the top – walk down

5 Hill Sprints – walk down after each run, begin immediately upon return until all 5 sets are completed

Round 2: Active Recovery

15 Pushups

20 Bodyweight squats

Cool Down

10 minute walk & stretch

10 minutes on foam roller focusing on calves, quadriceps, IT band, hamstrings, glutes, and low back

Lauren is a fitness and nutrition professional located in Dallas, Texas. Lauren uses her own transformation story and life experiences to educate and inspire others through functional fitness, proper nutrition, meal planning and lifestyle coaching. Lauren is also a published writer and fitness model.